Cristiano Ronaldo has last laugh as his 2017-18 record remains UEFA Champions League benchmark after Harry Kane misses chance to rewrite history

Harry Kane came close to reaching another extraordinary milestone in the UEFA Champions League, but his latest appearance for Bayern Munich ended with an unexpected personal disappointment. The English striker helped his team secure an important victory against Atletico Madrid, although the evening carried a different significance for Cristiano Ronaldo and his place in European soccer history. A long-standing record from the Portuguese superstar’s Real Madrid days has survived another serious challenge.

Bayern travelled to Madrid looking to strengthen their position in the Champions League league phase, while Atletico hoped to use their home advantage to secure a valuable result. Instead, the German side produced a disciplined performance to claim a 2-0 victory, with Lennart Karl and Konrad Laimer scoring the decisive goals.

Kane did not find the net, bringing an impressive European scoring sequence to an end. However, the Bayern forward still played an important role by providing the assist for Laimer’s second-half strike, helping his team collect all three points.

The result was particularly encouraging for the Bavarians after a frustrating 2-2 draw against Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga. The 33-year-old Ballon d’Or winner had also endured a difficult individual performance in that match, missing a penalty and hitting the crossbar.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Champions League record remains untouched

Kane entered the Atletico encounter having scored in 10 consecutive Champions League appearances, putting him within reach of one of the competition’s most remarkable individual records. A goal against Simeone’s team would have allowed him to equal Ronaldo’s benchmark of scoring in 11 successive matches.

However, the Englishman was unable to extend his streak, meaning Ronaldo remains the only player to have scored in 11 consecutive Champions League games. The Portuguese forward established the record with Real Madrid during the 2017-18 campaign, when the Spanish club went on to win its third consecutive European title.

Ronaldo’s remarkable sequence began with a brace against Juventus in the 2017 Champions League final. He subsequently scored in all six group-stage matches before finding the net in both legs of Real Madrid’s round-of-16 and quarter-final ties.

His run eventually ended against Bayern Munich in the semi-finals, when he failed to score. Nevertheless, Real Madrid progressed and later defeated Liverpool in the final to complete another memorable European campaign.

How Harry Kane built his 10-match scoring streak

Kane’s pursuit of Ronaldo’s record began during the 2025-26 Champions League campaign. He scored twice against Union Saint-Gilloise before finding the net against PSV in his following appearance.

The England international then continued his impressive run after returning to the starting lineup against Atalanta, scoring twice in the second leg of Bayern’s round-of-16 tie. He subsequently scored in every European appearance until Bayern’s campaign ended against Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals.

The Englishman carried that momentum into the current season, scoring against Bodo/Glimt, Viking FK and Arsenal. His penalty against Arsenal on matchday three took his streak to 10 consecutive matches, leaving him just one goal away from matching Ronaldo.

Despite missing out against Atletico, Kane remains second on the all-time list, ahead of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Robert Lewandowski, who each recorded scoring streaks of nine consecutive Champions League appearances.